Michael Dempsey: Young People Fall Into Speculation Before Understanding Compounding Compound managing partner Michael Dempsey @mhdempsey said in an October 19 interview with Empire that gambling should be restricted to those aged 26 and older, arguing that young people get caught up in speculation before understanding long-term growth and compounding. He admitted funding part of his living expenses through sports betting in college and trading options since age 18, yet now strongly opposes prediction markets and excessive gambling. Dempsey criticized the obsession with short-term gains and the declining desire to create things. While acknowledging the effort involved in meme coin trading, he questioned its intellectual value, joking that using Pump fun might be 100 times worse for your brain than using ChatGPT every day.